The Mystery of Nazca Lines

Across Peru’s Nazca Desert lies what appears to be a giant map of geoglyphs. The reason why it is made has been a speculative topic for many years. Recently declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Lines and Geoglyphs of Nazca and Pampas de Jumana (more commonly referred to as Nazca Lines) have inspired many fantastic explanations on its origins.

Some experts say that the geoglyphs were created as ancient landing strips for returning aliens, while others dismissed the idea and treated the Nazca lines in a more "scientifically realistic" state of mind. They say that the Nazca Lines may be a celestial calendar created by the ancient Nazca civilization for rituals probably related to astronomy.

The Nazca Lines are located in a highly arid plateau that stretches between the Peruvian towns of Nazca and Palpa, covering nearly 400 square miles. It consists of about 300 figures made of straight lines, geometric shapes, even animals.

Apart from the reason why the Nazca Lines were created, archaeologists have been intrigued by the figures found in the plains. Apart from long straight lines and trapezoidal shapes, the designs of the Nazca Lines also consists of figures of animals, flowers, plants, objects, and figures similar to humans that are so large, they can only be seen from above.

The Lines were said to be made by removing the iron oxide coated pebbles that cover the desert’s surface. Once the gravel was removed, they contrast with the light color underneath. Lines were drawn as furrows of a lighter color.

The geoglyphs were first spotted when commercial airlines began flying over the Peruvian desert in the 1920s, with passengers reported seeing "primitive landing strips" on the ground below.

Although there are several other geoglyphs exist in Egypt, Malta, and even the United States, the Nazca Lines have captured the intrigue of many especially because it was made throughout the period before the Spanish arrived in South America.